The Comment Section
by OCfan11
Summary: /*** AU Drabbles based off of my notes for the main story: Source Code ***/
1. Shapeshifting Origins

_/** Notes:_

 _\- Main Character must be able to look like Akira at some point_

 _\- Power must wear off_

 _**/_

* * *

Drabble:

"Cheater," Joker growls softly.

The replica of him smirks in reply, hand pulling away from his with a cocky head tilt. "Too late to turn back now."

He keeps his eyes on the replica's chest, where he knows her real eyes are watching him. "Switch briefcases with me."

The replica frowns. "You _know_ that's not part of the plan."

"I don't care," his eyes are red but she doesn't flinch when he steps close. It truly is _Joker_ talking now, with Akira buzzing questioningly in the back of his mind. Akira knows they should be moving. Joker won't reveal why he's trying to convince her to stop. "Give it to me."

Yume – as Cheater – is just confused about why he's arguing. This was agreed upon ages ago. "No." She turns and walks away.

Akira stops himself from grabbing her and pulling her away from the door. _This is the plan_ , he thinks as Joker tries to wrestle control again. _We all agreed. She will be alright._

Joker argues back that she won't, but he doesn't give any reasons why. Akira looks up when his copied self – like looking at a twin he didn't know of – smirks, waiting. Akira gives the signal, "Lead on, Oracle."

That's his cue. Cheater is gone, and Akira waits five minutes, muttering words under his breath to make it seem like he's the one being chased by guards. Then he's dodging through the shadows to the roof, where his teammates wait.

Skull flashes him a thumb up before turning back to hover over Oracle's shoulder. Ann smiles and waves, motioning him over.

"We'll retrieve the briefcase on our end," Queen says over their ear pieces. Akira watches his teammates jump and run around the castle through the cameras on Oracle's virtual screens. Mona's at her feet, frowning at one particular camera feed as static and unfamiliar voices can be heard through the headsets.

Oracle stills, head twitching side to side as she tries to find the source. "Hm…? What was that…?"

"Don't worry about us," Mona says, walking over to the feed of Crow talking with some policemen. The betrayal is expected and none of them flinch, yet Joker stews in the back of his mind. It's when their gaze lands on Cheater-as-Joker running around the ceiling hangers that _Joker_ comes back in control with an angry rush. His fists clench and eyes redden while Mona calls to the double. "Just concentrate on getting away!"

Mona takes a few deep breaths before continuing to talk, hiding the fact Noir pops up behind them. She rests a hand on Joker's shoulder, giving him a long look before she goes to stand next to Ann. He watches her – Ann's chatting hiding the other teen's footsteps – and then goes back grinding his teeth at the camera feeds.

"This happens because you have no sense for aesthetics," Fox comments to hide him jumping down beside them.

"Nobody asked you, Inari!" Skull snaps over his shoulder, but it does the job and eases the tension.

It's _Akira_ who starts panicking when on-screen Joker gets cornered by a mixture of police and shadows.

It's _Joker_ who forces them to stay on track and have the group meet Queen for their get-away.

It's both of them who pause at the sound of glass shattering; watching the other Joker fall a couple floors from the casino palace. The Phantom Thieves stand in the shadows of neighboring rooftops, watching the decoy get captured.

("You need to be ready for what's to come," Cheater replied when he argued against her offer. "I _don't_ have a Persona, I'm _not_ a team leader, so I _can_ be bait.

"You worry too much," she said much later with a hard grin and eyes a little too crazed. "I do have a very thought-out plan for when I get caught.

"The disguise just needs to hold until I'm in a cop car.")

"She destroyed the earpiece," Oracle gripes, pulling out her phone and dialling a number.

"Who you callin'?" Skull asks, eyes hard as he watches the cop car drive out of the Metaverse.

"Her lawyer."

Akira cracks a grin. Joker's still worried.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Persona. All rights belong to their respective owners.**

 **A/N: The drabbles are based on discarded plots and ideas unable to fit in for the main story: Source Code. I'm holding off on any major spoilers but… spoiler warning nonetheless. I hope people enjoy!**

 **This idea came back when I was first scratching out Source Code. I was mid-way through the game and had no idea what would was about to happen. It's gone through a lot of revision since then, but I felt it fair to post this one first since it got the ball rolling. Also, I told myself Source Code's first chapter wasn't going to start anywhere in the first fifteen mins of the game, so this is fulfilling that note too.**

 **Thanks for reading**


	2. Damsel (Not) in Distress

_/** Notes:_

 _\- Yume is naturally too paranoid to ever leave home without a backup plan to her backup plan_

 _\- Yume will not be a damsel in distress_

 _**/_

* * *

Drabble:

Yume takes a deep breath and pulls her hands down. Her left hand slides free of the shackle with ease, but her right hits the edge and undoes all her hard work. Yume growls slightly, eyes flaring open to glare at the shiny object. It's bad enough all her things are gone, her head aches, and _she's been stuck in the Metaverse for half-a-dozen real-life hours_. The fact she's handcuffed in some intensely sterile room to some too white wall is just icing on the _this-person's-cognition-is-a-mental-hospital_ nightmare.

The teenager huffs and shuts her eyes once again. Trying to get past the headache, she makes another attempt at enlarging the handcuff. It can't be more than a couple minutes when the door across the room clicks open.

 _Of course they send him_ , Yume gripes internally and thankful the earlier shadows left her mask in place when they couldn't budge it. _Not like the team could have come and looked for me themselves. Thanks. Appreciate it guys._

Tristan and Sophia could have told anyone she hadn't checked in. Of course they tell the _Fool_ she's been staunchly avoiding this past week.

Yume gets one look at Akira's grey-eyed surprise before it's replaced with Joker's smug aura. Red eyes stare into her green ones, only to pause in astonishment when she waves with her left hand and drawls. "If you could give me a minute, I'll be out of here."

"Oh?" Joker hums thoughtfully and twirls something out of his pocket and around his finger. _The bast_ \- "Are you sure you don't want to do this the easy way, Cheater?"

Yume glares at the key in his hand. In normal circumstances, she'd say a resounding _no_ at his smarminess and get herself out; they both know she likes doing it herself. It's why she scouts. It's about control. When Joker oozes confidence and plays with her, it can be annoying but she'll show him a trick or two that makes his eyes look a little more alive and in the moment. There is a freeing give-and-take when they interact.

This isn't normal circumstance.

Handcuffs – being trapped – just don't do it for her.

"You come over here and unlock the cuff and that's _all_ you do," she warns. Her eyes narrow as something in him seems to still and _twist_ and suddenly he's serious despite his expression never changing. "I mean it Joker. Try anything and you'll regret it."

He nods and moves with the grace of a predator. It's not aimed at her – he's looking at the handcuffs like he's about to murder them slowly – but she still can't relax until he's unlocked her; her breathing even through gritted teeth. He steps back, dropping the key in his pocket and watching as she attempts to stand.

He stares, and stares and stares and stares, but doesn't offer medicine when she flinches. She doesn't ask.

"I'm going to find my things," she says, resting a hand over an eye. When she blinks and looks up, its Akira's grey eyes staring back. "Thanks for getting me out."

He nods.

Yume nods back and leaves. It takes only a few steps and a glance at the reflective walls to see he's following. "You can go back now."

"I know," Akira says softly, taking it as an invitation to walk beside her. "I have a mission, though. I won't leave it incomplete."

Yume slumps her shoulders and sends a sidelong look at him. "Who ratted me out?"

His lips twitch. "Tristan noticed. Sophia told me."

Yume silently curses, much to his amusement. Her expression reveals how tired she is when she tilts her head back to meet his stare. "I'm sorry you had to come get me."

"No," he whispers almost harshly. "Don't be sorry."

"I will and you can't stop me." Yume nudges him when his lips purse. "Come on, Joker. You know I would have come back fine."

He doesn't reply, so she goes back to the hunt for her things, never knowing just how worried he was when he got the message she was missing.

 _We'll record on a different page tonight_ , Joker tells him. For someone who doesn't completely trust her, his other self was all for decimating the shadows with vigour as they searched. _I don't want any of the thieves to die. Not even the old leader._

 _I like her_ , Akira taunts back. _So just suck it up and admit you like her too._

There's a long moment before his other self sighs in reply. _Focus on getting her out of here._

Akira takes that as a win.


	3. The Palace

_/** Note:_

 _\- Akira does not have a palace_

 _**/_

* * *

Drabble:

The first time Yume saw the distorted name on the dungeon list, she was wary. When it wasn't there the next day, she got suspicious.

The second time it appeared, she was prepared. Like last time, it came the day Akira's Phantom Thieves target confessed. She painstakingly copied the illegible symbols and letters by hand, and then typed them into her phone. It was three in the morning when she stood on the roof of her building and looked for it in the Metaverse. Cheater didn't have to look far; the giant, flashy castle lit up most of Tokyo. The line to enter started at Sojiro's café, and the actual castle sat above the Mementos. If she ignored the red, pulsing, vein-like lines digging into the side of the castle, she would have said it to be beautiful. She exited out and stayed up all night watching the list. The dungeon disappeared and went inactive on her phone a few hours later.

Now, back for the third time, after Akira's group's third successful heist, Yume scales the castle for an opening. She is dressed as Cheater, mask glued on and mouth scarf firmly in place. She believes to be ready for a little scouting mission, knowing she is on a time limit. At the sight of an easily accessible walkway she goes for the shut windows lining it.

At first touch, she thinks it's locked. The window opens with a little more pressure, which is rather surprising. Normally when they feel locked, they stay locked. Wary, Yume hooks the palms of her fingerless gloves under the frame, and then slides herself to the floor below.

The window softly clicking shut matches with her quiet drop. She ducks behind a pillar, glancing up and down the darkened hallway, and then leans around to see what's on the floor below. Her breath catches.

She thought she was ready. She's really not.

The ballroom below is something she's dreamed about before. Even the music is the same. The people dance and twirl in sync, all dressed for a masquerade ball. Every person on the main floor wears a mask, hiding the faces they don't have. The only expressions they make are with their mouths. All of them are missing eyes.

 _Well, not all of them_ , Yume corrects herself; gaze is drawn to the normally empty throne. The young man she's danced with in her dream is splayed across the velvety red seat; his red eyes lazily scan the crowd. She isn't even shocked he's the one sitting in the throne; he's always hinted that he's observing others whenever she isn't here. She knew this place was never her dream, but she had thought the ballroom was only that, though; just his dream _. Way to prove that theory wrong, Joker._

She doesn't have time to mull in thoughts any longer as a door bangs shut from down the hallway. Yume leans around the pillar, eyes widening in the holes of her mask when the shadows with red pulsing veins zero in on her. They unsheathe swords and electric batons, and lunge for her hiding spot.

She doesn't hesitate turning tail and sprinting for the door on the other side of the hallway.

;;;

His head jerks up to the upper floors, and then his body follows into a sitting position as a blur of blue blinks in and out of sight. He stands when he catches a glimpse of a familiar mask. The sight of his guards chasing the intruder is second to the question echoing in his head. _Cheater?_

Joker takes an unconscious step, and then another. His guards and the intruder are long gone, but something in his chest is twisting and demanding he go after them. His trench coat flutters above the last step and he fiddles with his gloves. He blinks; watching, waiting, _wanting_.

"My lord?" Joker pauses and forces his head to meet the eye-less stare of one of his people. The woman in a thick dress looks much like his normal partner, but the eyes… There are none. His mind is playing tricks on him again. "May I please have this next dance?"

The few woman behind her are watching, waiting, _wanting_ , to dance with him. They are willing. Dance with one, and he will be kept dancing for the whole night. It's never the same, though. All those years twirling, never staring into eyes that aren't there, but it's not the same anymore. _Her_ eyes are so expressive, and so he saves dancing to be with her only. _Where is she_ , he wonders.

He doesn't want to miss her, but he has an intruder to deal with. "My apologise, Miss. I have some business to attend to, and will be unavailable for most of the night."

"Oh," she pouts at him. "Maybe next time."

He gives her his most charming smile and slips through the crowd. Joker escapes through a servant's hallway, relaxing and stuffing his hands in his pockets. He steps out behind a bookcase and startles some of his guards. "Anything you boys want to tell me?"

The tension builds the longer his guards give their report. By the end, Joker's teeth are in a clenched in a tight smile and his hands are fists as he stares them down. When they don't mention some _very crucial information_ , he gets rather _annoyed_. "And how, exactly, did the intruder enter _locked rooms_?"

"We don't know, my Lord," one guard replies. "None of the doors she opens are locked for her."

"And you can't _follow_?"

"They are locked for us."

He hisses a sigh and nods. "Well, now they aren't." His guards pause, and then send nervous glances his way. Whatever news they received, he almost doesn't want to know. " _What?_ "

"The intruder is heading for the honeymoon wing."

Joker swears for a second he sees red. He swallows back the roar building in his throat at the thought of someone in _his_ central wing of _his_ palace. "If they enter, do not follow them. _I'll_ deal with them."

"Yes, Lord Joker."

Something niggles in his head as he heads for the labyrinth of shortcuts. Something he saw is trying to make him stop and focus for a second. It tries to remind him the intruder looked like someone he knows.

His tunnel vision won't let him notice.

;;;

The castle doesn't have any safe rooms.

Well, it has one. Her ultimate safe room; her living room. Yume knew this coming in, but it didn't fully click until the first reality-hour passed and she has no way to backtrack. There's nowhere to safely stop and eat a meal or take some medicine. She's eating on the go, in between fighting and running from shadows.

It isn't the first time this has happened, but she's never worked with such a tight timeline. Her goal has changed from scouting to finding proof that this isn't truly Joker's dungeon. It definitely isn't Akira's, because somewhere inside she'd _know_ if he was in danger of falling into distortion. Joker and she don't have the same connection. _Don't let this be his dungeon._

There isn't a smooth transition between fighting the shadows and running for cover. One second they are a corner behind her, and the next she's slammed the door closed and running into a connecting hallway which overlooks the adult district of Tokyo. Yume slows when her breaths are the only in the area, and there is no pounding on the doors behind her. There is nowhere to hide, as the walkway is all glass. Still, she needs the rest. Taking a long moment, Yume leans against the railing and glances at the sights below as she brings out a water bottle. The cool water feels great against her air-cut throat. She closes her eyes and sighs.

"Well, you certainly look like Cheater," drawls someone down the hall. Her eyes fly open and she whirls towards the voice, pocketing the water and setting to run back the way she came. Joker looks stunned for a moment before his face softens. "It really is you, Cheater, isn't it?"

She licks her lips quickly; he watches the movement in a swift blink. She nods.

"Hmm," Joker smirks a little tightly and strolls forwards, hands in his pockets. "Now why, oh _why_ , would you sneak into my palace?"

She deadpans.

He raises an eyebrow.

"You answered your own question," she says flatly, not showing the upheaval of emotions going on inside her at the confirmation that this is _Joker's Palace_.

His lips twitch tighter. "I guess I did."

Yume slides a foot back. Then another. Then sprints for the door.

"I wouldn't do that," he sighs, walking lethargically behind her. "It's locked-"

The sound of him choking is music to her ears as she races out the door she opened. The flash of fear that shoots through her at the roar that follows chases it all away.

" _CHEATER!_ "

Yume gulps in a breath and plunges back into the palace depths.

;;;

 _She has eyes._

Joker runs through the shortcuts, goal to cut off the intru- _Cheater_. His chest is tight with a possessive emotion which fights with his anger. What is she doing here? How dare she intrude into his mind?

 _She has eyes. She's real._

He bursts out from behind a secret wall. He expects to see her. He's locked all the doors to herd her. She has to be here. Why isn't she here? "Where is the intruder," Joker demands when a guard rounds the corner.

"Heading for the dungeons, Lord Joker."

His breath catches. The anger stays, but possessiveness turns to horror. "Alert the watchers," he commands while backtracking to the shortcuts. "Tell them she is not to be harmed!"

 _She has eyes. She's real. She's here._

 _She's_ _ **mine**_ _._

;;;

Yume looks for a way out as soon as she realizes she is in the dungeons. It's not noticeable at first, but then the red lines in the walls thicken and she can tell the veins in Mementos are rooted to the stones. It almost makes her sick when she realizes how deep they run. She remembers the dream where she pulled Joker – who she thought was Akira – out of the tangled mess of red wrapped around his body that was forcing him to sleep (to _submit_ ).

Maybe it was not as much a dream as she thought. This is horrifying, and she knows she can't touch the roots. It doesn't stop her from pulling out her knife and debating the pros on severing the largest vein she finds.

" _Cheater!_ " Joker's shout echoes through the cavern walls. Yume sucks in a breath and sheathes the weapon as she runs for a rather empty room. " _Where are you?_ "

She slides into the shadow, trying not to let unknown edge in his voice get to her. It's somewhere between mocking and concern, and she doesn't know if he's going to try hunting her or not.

" _It's not safe down here!_ " his echoes make her shiver and swallow hard. " _Come with me, Cheater! Let's get out of here and talk!_ "

Yume resists closing her eyes when his footsteps come down the hall outside the room. It would be so easy to start wishing that he keeps walking by, but this close and he might notice some request which isn't his.

"Come out, Cheater!" he shouts. She can see him pass out of the corner of her eye. When his calls move around a few more corners, Yume finally slinks out of the room. She heads for the exit, keeping an ear out for his shouts in the other direction. When she touches the door, the voice suddenly stops and the sound of running starts.

 _He doesn't give up_ , Yume thinks, exasperated as she hurries away from the dungeon. It's a minor slip-up on her part when she runs into a shadow at the top, but she's cutting some slack on the fact she's running from the dungeon boss and waitress shadows aren't high on the it's-a-threat list. And it really isn't a threat, until it throws spicy wine on her before deciding to attack in waitress form and not monster/demon forms.

Yume makes a strangled gasp and stumbles back, blind. She flattens against a wall, twisting her head all around as she tries to hear a way out and clear her eyes. Something runs past her and attacks the shadow. Yume goes to get away, but crashes into a table and crumbles to her knees.

"Don't move." She freezes at Joker's low voice in her ear. Then she's scooped up and crushed against a human chest. Yume sharply inhales through her mouth scarf and tries to struggle, but this is Joker's palace and he's decided he's going to be stronger than her. For all that he can overpower her here and now, the only constraining thing he does is rest his chin on the side of her head, pinning her masked face against his throat.

"What are you doing?" Yume finally asks, eyes still closed and burning. He lets her hands move up to try to clean them, but doesn't let her head move.

"I'm taking you to safety," he mutters, words smooth and a hint angry. "And you're going to tell me why you're here."

"I scout palaces," Yume says, deadpanned. "This is a palace."

He chuckles, moving his head so his nose is pressed to her hair. He lets it drag as she moves her head away, lowering his head further to whisper in her ear. "Why not tell me you were going scouting?"

"I didn't realize it was your palace," Yume says, letting her head thunk back against his chest. He hisses a pleased breath over her tied back hair. "And I'm only required to let the Librarians know."

"It would make me feel better if you told me," he hisses over her, resting his cheek on her forehead. "I'm sitting you down now. Do try not to harm yourself further by running again."

Yume hums but makes no promises. Still unable to see, she doesn't realize what he's gone to get until it's on her eyes. Yume hisses and jerks back with a snarl.

"Oh, would you like your eyes to be damaged?" he says conservationally. She keeps her snarl on, but moves her head back to him. "There we go."

Yume can feel the glue dissolving under the water of the washcloth. By the time he's done, half of her mask is unstuck to her face. She draws the line at letting him dry her, and takes the towel the moment it touches her face. Green eyes blink up at his red ones when her eyes finally stop hurting. "Thank you."

"Of course," he keeps smirking and leans back, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I wouldn't want my favourite scout blind, after all."

Yume gives him a forced blank expression before she starts looking around. She frowns at the sight of a bed behind her, and then frowns further when she picks up familiar books and furniture Akira keeps in Leblanc.

"My room," Joker sighs, walking around and falling backwards onto the bed. Yume turns on the bench seat, raising an unseen eyebrow. "I figured this would be the safest place for you. My guards still think you're an intruder, after all."

"And you?" she asks quietly, blandly. Her heart skips a beat with nerves when his head turns so he can stare at her. "What do you think?"

He stares for a long time. "I thought you were an intruder at first, but you have eyes, unlike the rest of my entertainment and staff."

"I noticed," Yume remarks dryly. She makes a face and presses her mask to her face while pulling down the scarf, which smells of spicy wine. It feels awful only having her forehead hold her mask on.

"You can take it off," Joker says smugly. His smirk stretches at her glare. "I won't tell anyone who you are."

"I don't think you'd like who I am," she says, wondering whether she just lied or not. Certainly he'd feel some betrayal, but she doesn't actually know if _he_ likes her reality persona.

"I'm sure I would," he taunts, rolling so he's on his stomach, hands holding up his head. "Please?"

Yume rolls her eyes and turns away so she can stare at the bookshelf. She hears him get up, but doesn't react until he's crouched in front of her.

His voice is soft and curious, like he's gazing at something special. "Please?"

Something in her thuds hard and Yume swallows. After all this time, she knows she isn't ready. However, she did invade his dungeon. He's a friend, no matter what he thinks of her. But… "I need you to promise me something."

His eyes light up and his smirk means he thinks he's won. "Anything."

"You, Joker," she pauses and swallows hard. "You, Ren," he stills and eyes wide at her, "need to promise you won't tell Akira who I am."

He jerks back, clearly not expecting that. "How did you know?"

"It's not hard to tell the difference." She shrugs. "Now, promise?"

"I promise," he says like it's no big deal. She almost feels bad she's going to prove him wrong. He holds out the wet cloth.

"Thanks," Yume says automatically. She ducks her head and rubs along the edges of her mask. Slowly but surely the glue holding it in place dissolves. She holds out the cloth with one hand and keeps her mask in place with the other. He takes the cloth without a word.

She decides if she's going to reveal, might as well go with the full thing. She takes out the hair tie and removes the mask at the same time. Green eyes blink freely, watching as he gasps and steps forward with a hand hesitantly held out.

"Yume," he whispers, hand shaking as it touches the red strands now showing in her hair. "You knew," he accuses.

"Yes," she answers the unspoken question. After a brief pause when he runs a second hand through her hair, she ducks her head and bores holes in the floor. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not," Joker says with surety. Before she can ask, he lifts her head and presses a firm kiss to her mouth.

It's quick and causes her to pause, to stare into red eyes when he moves back slightly. She can feel his breath across her face and, no matter how much she wants to say something, she can't move.

"I've wanted to do that for ages," Joker whispers, smiling slyly and pressing his forehead to hers. He closes his eyes and hums. "Akira won't let me."

"Good," Yume huffs, making his eyes open and causing him to frown. "You shouldn't kiss someone you don't know the face of."

"Not Cheater," he smirks, pulling back but leaving a hand under her chin. "You. I was attracted to Cheater's mystery, yes, but Akira didn't want me to mess up your friendship."

"Good," Yume repeats, raising her hands to cup his face so he doesn't pull away. "I've been waiting for either of you to tell me your secret. Only then would I admit my part, and then we'd have to decide if you two could accept that I have been keeping that side of me quiet for years."

"What about you?" he counters, stroking her hair.

"I will always love Akira," Yume replies with severity. "I enjoy being your friend, too. I don't want to screw it up."

"You won't," he breathes, leaning down again.

Yume smiles a little brokenly. "Don't start something we can't see through."

"Who says we can't?" he demands, red eyes on her lips.

"Do you only want me because I'm different?"

"No," he says harshly and presses a quick kiss on her lips. Then he's staring into her eyes with a desperate, angry look as he throws his own mask off to the side. "Akira loves you, so I love you."

"Ren," she says slowly. "I love you too." He presses his lips to hers harshly, and she runs her hands through his hair. Her nails lightly scrape his scalp, and gently ease him back. "I can't do this without knowing you both agree."

"Then I'll tell him," he replies easily, grinning at the horror on her face. "Problem solved."

"You promised not to," she whispers, drawing back all at once. He grabs her arms to stop her from moving completely away.

"I lied," he whispers, smile fading as her betrayed expression doesn't disperse. She almost finds it ironic; s _he_ shouldn't be the one feeling betrayed. "Yume."

"I shouldn't have come," she says, resigned as she looks to her mask under his. "I'm sorry."

"Don't run," he begs. "When tomorrow comes, don't avoid us. We'll come after you."

She sighs and rips her arms from his, going to gather her stuff. He follows along her side, not noticing when she slips out her phone. "Please don't tell him."

Joker swoops down to kiss her cheek. "Stay."

She gives him a defeated smile, and then vanishes. Yume appears back in her apartment, staring at her phone for a long few minutes. Then she gets to packing. Hiding in the Library sounds like a great idea.

The knock on her door barely ten minutes later makes her pause. She peeks out the peephole, and then wonders if escaping into the Metaverse is an acceptable response to the sight beyond her door.

"Don't even try it," Akira warns.

She sighs, knowing he must have main-character powered to out maneuver her. Reluctantly, she unlocks and opens it wide to let him in. "What's up, Aki-"

His kiss is softer than Joker's. She makes a startled noise, and he slips tongue in for a swift lick. Then he pulls back, grey eyes staring earnestly into hers.

"I love you," Akira says, shutting the door and locking it without looking up. "And we're going to talk out everything. Also, don't ever fear for our friendship." He tilts her head up a bit more, and when she raises her eyebrows, he smirks and pecks her lips again. "You're my best friend. You know me better than I know myself sometimes."

"You're not upset," Yume says slowly, eyes narrowing.

"I was," he shrugs and picks her up. Yume squeaks but doesn't protest as they move to the living room. "Joker and I had a long chat. I realized I can't _ever_ hate you, even if you never told me about your extracurricular activities."

"You never told me about your new ones," she points out, and then ducks her head as he sits, placing her beside him so her legs stretch over his. "I am sorry, though."

"You can make it up by kissing me," he whispers, leaning his forehead on hers. She meets his eyes. "Or I can lie in your lap."

Yume smirks and tilts her head up, hearing his breath catch as he stills. "How about both?"

And then she kisses him.

His hands catch her waist and shift her closer. She runs her hands up and down his face, making him shiver as she draws a finger on the sensitive spot behind his ear. He gasps when she pulls back, only to trail kisses down his throat.

"I love you," she whispers at the base of his throat. He tightens his grip and pulls until he can trap her head under his chin. She kisses the hollow of his throat. "I love you."

"I love you too," he whispers hoarsely, moving so he can kiss the top of her head.

They sit there in silence, taking in the fact that for now, everything is perfect.

(Ignoring they have a _lot_ to talk about)


	4. Can't Stop Laughing

_/** Note:_

 _\- Yume trolls everyone with a Phantom Thieves Are Magical Girls headcanon_

 _**/_

* * *

Drabble:

Futaba, _the most secretive and shut-in hermit who rarely talks to anyone about her personal interests and especially never admits to anything that could send her to prison_ , caves and tells Yume first.

To be fair, Yume is her soul-sister. She doesn't keep _anything_ from the older girl. Sojiro is great but he doesn't want to deal with her growing up and changing. Given, transforming into a completely different outfit through magic and wand waving isn't what Sojiro has in mind but Futaba's not social enough to know _that's_ why Yume laughs when she explains not mentioning it to him.

"We'll figure out a way to break it to Sojiro," Yume finally says when she catches her breath. She pets the girl's hair and reassures her that everything will be alright and not to worry; _she's got this_.

They spend the night eating popcorn and poking and prodding at the suit because _magic_. The skin-tight suit is like armor, which can transport something Futaba doesn't want touching her through it instead of letting it hit her.

"This is so cool," Yume comments with her arm in front of Futaba's stomach and her hand wiggling out the younger girl's back.

Futaba's oohing and poking the arm. "Just wait until you meet Prometheus."

Prometheus is a green ball of fluff which Futaba shoves off on Yume so the younger teen can sleep in peace for a month. Yume doesn't mind and coos over the youngest alien fluff which turns her friend into an actual magical girl. Prometheus likes eating her baking and playing her videogames.

And so starts Yume's research into what a Persona-alien-puffball is.

;;;

The first Thieves Yume sees after the revelation that magic and aliens are a thing on this world are the twin brothers Akira and Ren.

Akira is up earlier in the morning and joins her for breakfast because she always eats at Sojiro's café. Yume and he share a smile and settle into a peaceful half hour. Then Sojiro gives his usual sigh and sends the older teen to wake his brother up.

Ren, who's the more outgoing of the two, messes Yume's hair as he runs by. Akira's silently laughing at her back, grabbing her purse and holding it out for when she's ready to go.

"One of these days I'm waking up you," Yume growls at the older brother, "with an _air horn_."

"You like me too much to do that," Ren taunts between mouthfuls of breakfast.

Yume huffs and nods her thanks to Akira as she stands. Then she's catching sight of the television and the opportunity is too good to give up. "I wish I was that flexible."

"You're the most flexible person I kn-" Ren cuts off because he's choking. He and Akira stare with wide eyes at the news showcasing the Phantom Thieves' latest activities.

"No, really," Yume sighs wistfully and leans on Akira while one of the male Thieves does the splits. Akira _flinches_ and makes an aborted motion for his calves. "Everyone always takes about how cool the Thieves are or how strong or how brave they must be to face the injustice and save the world every week. And yah, they are, but those _legs_ , boys. I'm sure they can pull their foot over their head if they wanted."

Akira _whimpers_ at the thought. Ren's _ashen_.

"The things that interest you," Sojiro sighs and washes their dishes. He grabs Ren's plate without glancing away from the screen. "Don't you boys have school?"

"Right," Ren clears his throat and gathers his stuff. Akira wraps an arm around Yume and keeps her close as they follow the older brother. A cat pops out of the older twin's bag and Yume slips Morgana some treats. Akira chuckles above her, finally relaxing away from the reminder of their circus-like night.

And yes, she knows. Kind of hard not to when the leader of the thieves looks like the twins and must hang around Futaba. The guys probably switch who is in the limelight and who's sneaking around because there is no way one does this without the other.

"So, Yume," Ren falls back to walk with them. "What are you going to do while we suffer in school?"

"Baking, probably." Prometheus keeps eating everything she makes and she just wants a brownie. "Futaba's still passed out, which I hope means she's doing well."

"I'm sure she is," Akira says with a comforting squeeze.

"I want some of your food," Ren mockingly pouts, snatching her hand. Yume raises an eyebrow but lets him play with her fingers. "We never seem to eat together anymore."

"And which one of us is always busy?" Yume raises both her eyebrows and throws them a _look_.

"We'll come by tonight," Akira whispers against her ear, glaring at his brother to just _try_ and disagree.

"Fine," Ren sighs and laces their fingers. "Who am I to say no to a home cooked meal?"

"The best friend who knows he's going to be food poisoned," Yume says easily.

Ren mock gasps and pulls away, and she can feel Akira smiling. "You wound me, my dream."

"Not yours," Yume shoots back and stops at the train terminal's entrance. Akira lets go to wave as they walk on. "Have a great day, guys! Try not to pull anything!"

They wince.

She counts it as a win.


End file.
